AIBU to ask you what will drive me crackers about new kitchen design in six months?

[Waffles80]

Crystal balls / hindsight / voice of experience / wild speculation.

We are having the kitchen done in the house we’ve just moved in to. We’re knocking the existing dining room and kitchen into one space, and putting the dining room where the kitchen is and vice versa.

We’ve mulled over the plans approx eleventy bazillion times. I think the plans work now. But....what am I missing that will do my head in at a later date? What’s in a stupid position?

Can’t really add more units without encroaching on dining space, but could change what’s going IN each unit.

Any thoughts? Images attached!

I love my Qooker, best money I’ve spend in a long time, along with my very expensive Fisher & Paykel double drawer dishwasher. Just wish I’d splurged on proper stone worktops and not plumped for crap laminate because Magnet didn’t have anything else.

Personally I’d be leaving the kitchen in the house and using the sticking out area as a dining/sitting area with bifold doors into the garden (might need a complete rebuild), but that’s a whole different story.

Moving outside - DECKING - if you must have decking and not stone get expensive non-slip engineered decking. Otherwise it will become a slippery nightmare every time it rains. For complete disclosure, the space under our decking harboured rats.

@daisypond where’s this miracle table with drawers from? Sounds bloody brill!

@badbadperson there’s a boxed in induction thingy above the hob, and it’s being vented out beneath the false ceiling. Really can’t cupboard up to the ceilings as the room has really high ceilings so we’d never be able to reach. DH can do an annual grease clean up there.

Re: the combi oven micro issue mentioned above - I love ours. It’s not the greatest microwave as doesn’t turn (but we don’t microwave all that much). The fan oven is great and I use it to cook cakes as it’s higher and less likely to be sabotaged by small people playing with the door. Works really well. It’s a Neff one though

I and a colleague have had our kitchens done recently. We both agree that the pull out bins are the best thing about the kitchens!

I don't know if you have one of those magic corners. We have, and that is one thing I think is wasted space. I don't think it has provided much storage and would have preferred a couple of normal shelves.

A bigger sink is really useful. We now have a great sized sink.

The induction hob is great.

Oh and when I was designing mine I wrote out a zillion post-it notes of everything I needed to store. So, cereal, tea/coffee, mugs, pans, baking trays, baking ingredients, pans, herbs, vases, dishwasher tablets, tea towels, plastic pots, glasses etc etc. I mentally went through our old kitchen to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything. Or if the old storage was big enough. And what used to drive me mad.

Then I painstakingly worked out where each "thing" would go in the new kitchen. So I knew I wanted all the tea/coffee/mugs/glasses all in the same area...next to the fridge and close to the kettle and sink. That I had a plastic pot problem (and they were always messy and cluttery) and needed reasonable storage for them (big pull out drawer).

It really helped fine tune the rest and 7years on I still have everything in the same place and zero regrets

@PurpleWithRed aware of slippery rat death trap-ness of decking - ugh!! Wonder if this will help me persuade DH to get a cat.....
It’s affordable for the moment, so will try to get the safest version possible and upgrade to something better when we’ve stabilised our finances post kitchen!

Also - the kitchen is going to be in the house, with the dining area where the current kitchen is. Possibly not that clear on the plan!

We used Karen from OnePlan to design ours and she came up with five initial sketches and we worked with her to fine tune one design that totally suited us. Lots of drawers ( not just one pack in the busiest place like in yours) and she knows about FF opening space ( not against the wall etc) and what's legal and safe etc. She gave us a shopping list of cabinets too. All very easy and I could be part of it. Then we shopped around and got loads of quotes .

Another great tip @BadBadBadPerson - I’m going to get on the post it notes this afternoon!

The oven and the micro combi one are both Neff and get good reviews.

Yes @Waffles80 !! We moved last year and I am mourning the loss of my induction (saving to replace current range)!

@Tallgreenbottle - induction cooking is very easy - once you get used to it. It's a short but definite learning curve!

@Waffles80 the preset programme for baked potatoes is especially good!

Sorry haven't RTFT but make sure there's a designed place for your bin - there isn't in our new build and a year later still annoys me!

Agree with Badbadbadperson - plan out exactly what is going to go into each cupboard, and that the layout is ergonomic.

I was going to suggest centering the door, but your photos show that that's not possible, which is a shame.

I'm not convinced about bins in cupboards, especially for food/ general waste, because of the difficulty in cleaning them- I'd think about getting a decent recycling/ multi compartment bin , and use the cupboard space instead.

We did the same as you and moved the kitchen into the dining room and vice versa.
Our room size is similar to yours too. We went for a U shape with an extra bit in the dining area to house the washer and dryer, plus gave us a worktop to put a tv on. We don't have a dining table yet, but a huge comfy settee. We spend most of our time in there now. We also had the external drop from the doors issue so had steps fitted rather than death trap decking.

You can't see on the photos but next to the oven is a big American fridge freezer then the door next to that.
We have no radiator in the kitchen but don't really need one. As it's Ann internal room it's quite warm. Also, having large tiles on the floor make it appear bigger.

Inertia
We have bins in cupboards, under the sink. They are from Ikea and pull out. We also have the same ones in the cupboard next to the washer with all the cleaning stuff in it. They're great, and very cheap.

Looks fabulous. Congrats on the new kitchen. My only advice is to get mid coloured grout on your floor if you have kids/dogs!!

Having done mine last year. I agree with dogsandboys use a coloured grout on the walls and floor especially my builder went for grey , I’ve got black floor tiles it’s so good and doesn’t show stains or look grubby at all.

I used Neff induction job, wasn’t expensive, is very clean. Lots of pans work with them but three years later I am still mostly using the free ones.

Our kitchen was from Wren kitchens. I wouldn’t use them again. I have since found out that independent kitchen fitters can get Wren products, would recommend that route.

Pan drawers, not cupboards. Tall larder with sliding doors.

Up until last year, I'd only ever used a gas hob(and I'm 50). I'm now using an electric hob after resisting it for years and it's a nice, flat plate of glass and easy to clean. Never tried induction so that's something to consider later.

OP, have you got enough drawer space? I see what looks like a bank of 3 (cutlery and 2 pan drawers) but I found I needed drawers for tea towels, dishcloths, and also the little things.

If you don't have units up to the ceiling (which could look overpowering if they are really high in an average sized room) lay some newspaper or greaseproof paper on top of the units, then you can replace that rather than have to clean settled grease off the tops

Would go around the end wall to make it less just on two sides. This is not appealing and doesn’t maximise the area. Also a small breakfast bar would create worktop whilst enclosing the main part of the kitchen, with the left ha d side of units and refrigeration. All of the main parts of the right in a shallow u.